For the past few weeks I've been taking part in a daily Twitter-based thing called One Minute Briefs (OMB).
The idea is simple: every weekday morning @OneMinuteBriefs tweets a 'thing' to advertise, and folks're invited to spend 60 seconds (give or take) coming up with a way of promoting that 'thing'. (We're not talking slick and polished designs here; it's all about the idea.) At the end of the day, all entries are compiled and the winner or winners are decided using a mix of votes and the organisers' favourite/s.
One day you could be tasked with advertising restraining orders, the next it'll be the World Cup, and another day cold sore treatment; it's a mixed bag and no mistake.
Explained more succinctly using their tagline, One Rule. One Minute. Create An Ad – One Minute Briefs is the brainchild of Nick Entwistle and James Clancy, a creative team working at McCann Manchester. I have tonnes of respect for these guys running a daily competition alongside their day job; thinking of a new topic, retweeting all the entries, compiling them into a blog post and then picking a winner every single day must be pretty time-consuming. Hats-off to them.
The concept reminds me of the one-day briefs we used to be given at university. They were always the most fun, frustrating and productive projects – when every second counts, it's an excellent way to get your brain thinking quickly and laterally.
It's pretty interesting to see how other people tackle the same problem too; and there's a really nice sense of community about the whole thing. People are always ready with a compliment for the best solutions; the OMBLEs* are a good bunch.
I tend to use OMB as a little bit of 'punctuation' between projects at work. It acts as a nice, neat break to separate tasks but keeps my brain working in the right way for solving design problems. Plus it's really good fun! Perfect. Mostly a win is purely for the glory but every now and then there are prizes too. (I've won a ticket to a fancy awards shindig, and my design printed on a t-shirt; get me!)
If you're a designer, advertiser, copywriter, or just like coming up with quick-fire ideas, OMB is a fine way to spend a minute (or so) of your day.
*Anyone and everyone who takes part in a One Minute Brief is an OMBLE.
Some of my OMB entries so far …
